When Peta Wilson, 26, auditioned for the starring role of a street kid turned assasin in the USA network's La Femme Nikita, she knew the part called for a knockout. But not until she suffered a concussion performing her own stunt did she know what she was really in for.

Luckily, Wilson, a former model, was a champion basketball player in her native Australia and was used to a few bruises. Back then she cut her hair boy short "just to piss Mum off" and answered to the name of Pete. These days her locks are longer and a bit darker. In fact, when stylist Art Luna bleached Wilson's hair a lighter blond for the show, she persuaded the producers to let the roots grow in, as her character might.

Nikita's style, which Wilson describes as "an interesting mix of masculine and feminine," is not unlike Wilson's own. She's as soon wear a '40s dress as a man-tailored Gucci suit. For the beach, she favors sport-inspired swimsuits over anything overly revealing. "I'm careful not to be too va-va-va-voom sexy," says Wilson. "I may be a blond-haired, blue-eyed Barbie, but I ain't Pamela Anderson [Lee]!"

Hilary Sterne